The leaving drinks were held in the council chamber at Broadcasting House. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Not many people leaving the BBC get an appearance from director general Tony Hall, plus glowing leaving speeches from three executives. But former acting director of communications Julian Payne did at his leaving drinks at Broadcasting House on Thursday night. Worldwide boss Tim Davie wondered at Julian's fashionista reputation, asking: "How does he look like he's just had a martini on the back of a boat?" and marvelled at his ability to remain calm in a crisis, "whether it's Albert Square or select committees". After Julian stepped up following the departure of his former boss to deal with the fallout from the Jimmy Savile crisis, creative director Alan Yentob recalled how he, "was fantastic in trying to repair the damage … he came out with great dignity and got us through this very difficult period ... we're going to miss him a lot". Strategy chief James Purnell revealed he tried to emulate Julian's dress sense. One day he came to work wearing the same pair of glasses as the PR man. "Julian looked at my glasses and went, 'Yeah, good'. He never wore his glasses again." Julian said it had been a "privilege" to work at the BBC and recalled some of the more difficult situations he had dealt with during his corporation career. They included having to ask Pam St Clements if she was having a lesbian affair with Moira Stuart (No) and having to call a well-known actor who was having an anniversary dinner with his wife to inform him that he was going to be on the front of the News of the World the next day for having an affair. But Julian said one of his personal favourites was an Freedom of Information request which asked, "not only how much we spend on loo roll but what was our criteria for selecting the loo roll that we use". Absorbing stuff indeed.